Tonight is the night when 74 young men will be selected into the CFL to pursue their dream of playing professional football, as today teams across the league finalize their boards ahead of the 2024 CFL Draft.
For the Saskatchewan Roughriders in particular, there are certain strengths and weaknesses in their Canadian contingent that will determine who they bring into their building.
Saskatchewan has the following picks:
Round 1 (3rd Overall), Round 2 (12th Overall), Round 3 (23rd Overall), Round 4 (32nd Overall), Round 5 (41st Overall), Round 6 (50th Overall), Round 7 (59th Overall), Round 8 (68th Overall).
The Roughriders’ national depth is as follows:
QB: N/A
RB/FB: Thomas Bertrand-Hudon, Bruno LaBelle, Morgen Runge
WR: Samuel Emilus, Kian Schaffer-Baker, Mitchell Picton, Brayden Lenius
OL: Philip Blake, Logan Ferland, Evan Floren, Zack Fry, Peter Godber, Ryan Sceviour, Noah Zerr
DL: Charbel Dabire, Lake Korte-Moore, Nicholas, Dheilly
LB: A.J. Allen, Adam Auclair, Jaxon Ciraolo-Brown, Matt Dean, Justin Herdman-Reed, Jordan Herdman-Reed, Nick Thomas
DB: Jayden Dalke, Jaxon Ford, Nelson Lokombo, Godfrey Onyeka, Kosi Onyeka, Katley Joseph
The biggest need for the Green and White is the defensive line. With only three bodies on the roster, it would not be surprising whatsoever to see general manager Jeremy O’Day and new head coach Corey Mace bring in multiple players along the defensive trenches. Based on the talent available, however, it would be a reach to take a defensive lineman with the third overall pick. Targeting a defensive lineman with the 12th overall pick could be the Riders strategy, with talents like Luke Brubacher (Wilfrid Laurier), Tyson Hergott (Waterloo), Justin Sambu (Baylor), and Saskatoon raised Daniel Okpoko (San Diego State) expected to go in this range.
A position the Roughriders could target with their first-round selection could be the offensive line. Saskatchewan allowed the third most sacks (54) in the league last season and could begin the run of the big fellas in the draft. Gabe Wallace (Buffalo), Kyle Hergel (Boston College), and Nathaniel Dumoulin-Duguay (Laval) are some names to keep an eye on for that third overall pick.
Another position that will surely be addressed is the wideouts. The four Canadian pass catchers in Saskatchewan are all impact players but injury issues have come up and they need more depth. It is a deep receiver class and Riderville could wait for their selections in the third (23rd overall) or fourth (32nd overall) rounds to make a selection at the position.
A couple of positions that the Green and White could hold off on until later in the draft would be linebacker and defensive back. Sask has built up strong depth across these positions and signed national cover man Katley Joseph a day before the selection process. Unless there is a player O’Day and Mace love at one of these positions, it would be hard to see the Riders making linebacker and defensive back a priority.
The CFL draft begins at 8:00pm et tonight.
